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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28348863">I never had a place that I could call my very own</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesignatedGrape/pseuds/DesignatedGrape'>DesignatedGrape</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The road is long with many a winding turn [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Schitt's Creek</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Conversations, Family, Gen, Introspection, M/M, Post-Episode: s05e14 Life is a Cabaret</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:40:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,877</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28348863</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesignatedGrape/pseuds/DesignatedGrape</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Alexis swipes the cotton round under his eye. “I used to do this for David sometimes, you know. He went through this phase in high school when he was wearing eyeliner a lot, and he was, like, <i>really</i> bad at getting all of it off. I was only eleven, and my modeling career hadn’t taken off yet, so I think I just maybe wanted to like, spend time with my big brother, or whatever.” Patrick feels her wipe around the inner corner of his left eye. “And you’re going to be my brother pretty soon, too.”</p>
<p>Or, Patrick and Alexis talk after opening night of <i>Cabaret.</i></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Patrick Brewer &amp; Alexis Rose, Patrick Brewer/David Rose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The road is long with many a winding turn [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2076114</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>291</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I never had a place that I could call my very own</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">Patrick flops back on David’s bed and presses the heels of his hands into his eyes, trying to rub away some of his fatigue, before he remembers. <em>Shit.</em> He pulls his hands away quickly, and yes, they’re now darkened with eyeliner. He gets up cautiously, keeping his palms hovering in the air to avoid getting any black marks on David’s pristine white bedspread, and makes his way to the tissues on the side table by the bathroom door. He pulls one out of the box and scrubs at his hands, but doesn’t achieve much besides tearing up the cheap paper. He glances up at the mirror and can’t help but scowl at the sight of his reflection. His Emcee makeup, which was artfully smudged earlier this evening, has morphed into a full Alice Cooper situation. It’s not a good look.</p>
<p class="p1">“Do you want to use some of my makeup remover?”</p>
<p class="p1">Patrick turns toward the sound of Alexis’s voice. “No, no, that’s okay.” He waves a hand vaguely at the closed door to the adjoining room. “I’m sure they’ll be done in there...sometime soon…” He trails off, doubtful. David is ostensibly helping Mr. Rose to get Mrs. Rose out of the closet, but if the muffled wails still emanating from next door are any indication, he and David are both going to be stuck here for a while.</p>
<p class="p1">Alexis clearly has the same thought, because she scoffs at him and tosses her magazine onto the nightstand before climbing out of bed again. She’s already changed into her pajamas, her hair is tied in a bun on top of her head, and her now makeup-free face is instead coated with a thick layer of some sort of goopy white mask. Patrick thinks he’s seen David use something similar, but he’s learned by now that skincare that looks the same might not actually <em>be</em> the same, and he’s too wiped out from the emotions of today to listen to a meandering, though highly technical, Alexis-style dissertation on the subject right at this moment. So he doesn’t mention it.</p>
<p class="p1">Alexis breezes past him and heads into the bathroom, and is back a moment later with a clear bottle and some cotton rounds.</p>
<p class="p1">“Sit,” she directs, pointing to one of the chairs at the table. Patrick sits. </p>
<p class="p1">Alexis pumps a squirt of the gel onto a cotton round. “Close your eyes.” Patrick closes his eyes.</p>
<p class="p1">Patrick feels Alexis place her fingers gently under his chin, and a moment later, there’s a cool sensation against his right eyelid as Alexis wipes away the remnants of his show makeup.</p>
<p class="p1">“Thanks, Alexis. I really appreciate it.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Oh my god, please. Honestly, you’re doing me a favor. That eyeliner did <em>not</em> look good anymore.”</p>
<p class="p1">Patrick laughs. “Yeah, I noticed.” </p>
<p class="p1">Alexis swipes the cotton round under his eye. “I used to do this for David sometimes, you know. I mean, not often? Like, he was usually the one taking care of me. I didn’t really think about it back then, but. He was.” Alexis’s hands disappear, and Patrick hears the soft click of the pump bottle again. Then Alexis is back, this time attending to his left eyelid. “But David went through this phase in high school when he was wearing eyeliner a lot, and he was, like,<em> really</em> bad at getting all of it off.” </p>
<p class="p1">Patrick tries not to think too deeply about David in eyeliner—Alexis is standing <em>right there—</em>but he makes a mental note to ask David about it later. He wonders if there are pictures. He wonders if David would wear it now...</p>
<p class="p1">“Besides,” Alexis continues, saving Patrick from himself, “I was only eleven, and my modeling career hadn’t taken off yet, so I think I just maybe wanted to like, spend time with my big brother, or whatever.” Patrick feels her wipe around the inner corner of his left eye. “And you’re going to be my brother pretty soon, too.”</p>
<p class="p1">Patrick freezes. He dares to crack open his right eye, and he sees a smile playing at the corner of Alexis’s lips. The mask on her face makes her faint laugh lines more pronounced, even as she maintains her focus on the task at hand. He closes his eye again and smiles back. “Yeah, I guess so.”</p>
<p class="p1">Alexis hums. “Okay, I got most of it off, but we’re not done yet.” Patrick hears the light shuffle of Alexis’s feet on the carpet as she leaves to retrieve something else from the bathroom, and he blinks his eyes back open.</p>
<p class="p1">It’s not like he hasn’t thought about it before, the fact that marrying David will mean being part of the Rose family, but his ruminations were always of the more generic domestic variety: holidays, barbecues, maybe even an escape room, if he could convince David to do one first. But he hasn’t really considered the new titles: mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law. They're going to be <em>real</em> family, with all of the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful that comes with it. The thought makes him feel warm inside.</p>
<p class="p1">Alexis returns, brandishing a jar of lotion and a small bottle half full of a clear liquid. “Okay, this is micellar water,” Alexis says, wiggling the bottle between her fingers. “I tried to find the one that would be the most hydrating for your dry skin. This one isn’t quite right, but it will just have to do! Definitely better than leaving all that leftover gunk on there.” She waves a critical finger in the air, gesturing at Patrick’s face. “Close your eyes again.” Patrick does.</p>
<p class="p1">The cool moisture feels soothing on his tired skin. Alexis swipes the wet cotton more freely this time, gliding over his whole face but lingering a little longer on his eyes, presumably to wipe up the last of his eye makeup. </p>
<p class="p1">“Oh, I almost forgot!” Alexis says. “Hands, please.” Patrick opens his eyes and holds out his palms to her, and she wipes away the smudges he'd unintentionally put there earlier. Alexis drops the used cotton round on the table and picks up the jar of moisturizer, and hands it to Patrick. “David has taught you how to put this on by now, right?”</p>
<p class="p1">Patrick chuckles and takes the jar from her. “Yes, don’t worry.” She boops him on the nose, and he moves to the mirror to apply the moisturizer. He uses gentle fingers, tapping into the jar and then across his face, knowing that Alexis will probably scold him the same way David does if he gives in to his instinct to just take a scoop and rub it all in as quickly as possible. </p>
<p class="p1">“How are you feeling about going to the Galapagos?” he asks as he works. Alexis is already back in her bed, tapping on her phone. In the mirror, he sees her look up at him, her smile broad.</p>
<p class="p1">“Um, I’m feeling really great about it, thank you for asking, Patrick. Lounging on a beach is a <em>very</em> good look for me.” Her face softens, and she reaches up to tug on her earlobe out of habit, playing with an invisible earring. “And like, I'm really excited to be with Ted. He's only been gone for a couple hours, but I already miss him, you know?"</p>
<p class="p1">Patrick sets the jar down on the table in front of him and turns to face her, rubbing the residual lotion into his hands. He tilts his head meaningfully toward the door to Mr. and Mrs. Rose's room, where the wailing seems to have lessened to intermittent whimpers, interspersed with the low vibrations of David and Mr. Rose’s unintelligible placations. "Yeah, I know."</p>
<p class="p1">Alexis blink-winks at him a few times, and Patrick chuckles. “You should come over and have dinner with me and David tomorrow," he offers. "The matinee should be over by five, so you can come after. I’ll make chicken parmesan.” Alexis’s brow furrows, and Patrick hopes he hasn’t done something wrong. It’s not like it will be the first time she’s been to his apartment, but having dinner together isn’t really something they do. But with Ted gone this week… “I just thought it might be nice to spend some time with my future sister. Since you’re going to be away for so long.” </p>
<p class="p1">Alexis’s face transforms from confused into a sort of scrunchy pout, her mask wrinkling across her forehead. It’s an expression that David doesn’t really make, so Patrick can’t be completely certain of its meaning, but he’s pretty sure that she’s pleased. </p>
<p class="p1">“Totally. I would love to.” She gives him a little shoulder shimmy, then looks back down at her phone just as David tentatively opens the adjoining door a few inches and slides in.</p>
<p class="p1">“Okay, we got her to change into pajamas and take off her makeup, at least,” David sighs. “She went right back into the closet after, but Dad and I moved some of her shoes out of the way and put my old bedspread in there. It’s something.” He shrugs defeatedly and wraps himself around Patrick, looking for comfort. Patrick runs his hands across David’s shoulder blades and holds him as David takes deep breaths in and out. After a minute, David murmurs into Patrick’s neck, “Did you take your makeup off?”</p>
<p class="p1">“Yeah, it was getting really gross.”</p>
<p class="p1">David grumbles, displeased, and Patrick pats him on the back placatingly. “The show still runs for another week, baby.”</p>
<p class="p1">David pulls back to look him in the eye, the corner of his mouth quirked up. “Tomorrow, then?”</p>
<p class="p1">“Actually, Alexis is going to come over for dinner tomorrow.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Ew, what? Why?” His face twists in disgust.</p>
<p class="p1">“Excuse me, rude, David,” Alexis chimes in. “I’m coming over because Patrick invited me, and unlike you, he’s actually nice to me.”</p>
<p class="p1">David whirls to face her. “I am too nice to you, you little B.”</p>
<p class="p1">“I don’t know, David,” Patrick teases, “that doesn’t sound very nice to me.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Thanks, bro,” Alexis says to him, before sticking out her tongue at David.</p>
<p class="p1">Patrick winks. “No problem, sis.”</p>
<p class="p1">“EW. What the fuck is happening here?” David gestures wildly between them. His face is trying so hard to look appalled, but Patrick can see the telltale twitch at the corner of his lips, betraying the effort he’s making to keep himself from smiling. Patrick almost feels bad for him. Almost.</p>
<p class="p1">“Nothing.” Patrick winds an arm around David’s waist and gives him a squeeze.  “Ready to go?” </p>
<p class="p1">David’s tension melts away at Patrick’s touch. “Yeah. I have stuff at your apartment. I don’t need to pack anything.”</p>
<p class="p1">“Okay.” Patrick leans up to kiss him on the cheek. “Let’s go, then.” He steers them towards the door, and looks back at Alexis. “Goodnight, Alexis.”</p>
<p class="p1">She wiggles her fingers at him. “Goodnight, Patrick.”</p>
<p class="p1">Patrick starts to pull the door closed behind him, but at the last second, he decides that, as a newly-minted big brother, he can’t let the sentimentality go completely unchecked. He flicks off the light switch, plunging the room into darkness, and immediately slams the door. He can hear Alexis’s screech through the outside wall of the motel. </p>
<p class="p1">“Ugh, PATRICK!!”</p>
<p class="p1">He laughs to himself as he jogs to catch up to David. He’ll bake brownies tomorrow night to make it up to her.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This marks over 50k words published since I started fic writing for the first time three months ago. I tried to hit 50k exactly, like the cool kids can, but I wound up going more than 1,000 words over my self-imposed limit. 🤷 Thanks for reading all of my nonsense, frans.</p>
<p>I'm on <a href="https://designatedgrape.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a>.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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